A New Song
by madintheattic14
Summary: River has a whole new adventure for the Doctor, something he never expected and doesn't really know how to deal with. Why can't they ever do anything in order? Watch season 6 first: because it's an awesome season and the story will make more sense
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own _Doctor Who, _I wish I did.

Chapter 1

The Doctor leaned against the TARDIS as he studied the psychic paper in his hand. His forehead creased slightly as he frowned at the note. Along with the usual coordinates there was a message:

"Hello Sweetie. There is someone you need to meet. Oh, and pick up Mum and Dad on the way. X X River"

The Doctor set the paper down and frowned again. Amy and Rory were supposed to believe he was dead. What was the point of laying low if he was just going to pop in to visit his friends whenever he wanted? Plus, what would the shock do to them if he just materialized in their back yard after they thought they watched him die.

Of course River probably ignored that. The woman was eternally frustrating; leave it to her to just expect him to drop everything he was doing and cause an unknown amount of pain to his best friends. Of course he wasn't exactly doing anything at this exact moment. He was really just floating around in the vortex until he came up with a place he wanted to go; simply catching his breathe after a narrow escape on the planet Farlax. How was he supposed to know that big important-looking button would make the reactor explode? Everyone in the universe should know how he reacted to important-looking buttons by now. Well….anyway….the point was, he wasn't exactly busy at the moment…

But what about the Ponds? He couldn't do that to them. They thought he was dead; he remembered what happened last time he just showed up after they watched him die. Maybe if he picked just the right time….but then they might not know River was Melody. He would have to be _very_ careful about the point in their timeline. Wait, no that wouldn't work. He couldn't do that; he'd hurt them so much already.

It would be nice to see them again before he got to deep into his self-imposed obscurity…

The Doctor finally stopped thinking about it. He had reached a decision and bother the consequences. The Time Lord began running around the TARDIS console as he frantically flipped switches, turned knobs, and spun the thing that he didn't really remember the name of (it was probably in the manual. Oh well). Finally he paused in front of the monitor.

"Geronimo," he said to himself as he pushed the lever that sent the TARDIS spinning towards her destination.

An unmistakable scraping sound echoed in the quiet afternoon. A redhead and a Roman looked up from their movie before running into the backyard just as a large blue box finished materializing.

With an unbelieving look on his face Rory watched as a man in a bowtie stepped onto the grass. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh nothing much. Just stopping by to say hello. Also, there is somewhere we need to be apparently. Nothing to worry about. Probably." the Doctor replied. He rubbed his hands together as he walked closer. "Permission to hug?"

"Fine, but I'm not sure you really want to…" Rory trailed off as he looked at his wife. Up to that point Amy Pond had been looking at the Doctor with an indistinguishable expression. As he held his arms out and stepped closer-

*slap*

The stunned Time Lord was left with a red handprint across the side of his face. "I guess I deserved that didn't I?"

"Definitely." Amy stated, "you made us watch you die even though you didn't. You didn't tell us, and now you just show up again."

"Eh…Right. Well. Sorry Pond." The Doctor struggled to think up a clever response to the accusations so he decided to change the subject. "I got, well we got, an invitation from your daughter. We're to meet someone important apparently. Maybe a king or a queen or a new species. Who knows? Well we won't unless we go, so come along Ponds." With that the Doctor turned back towards the TARDIS, took two steps, and finally processed something he realized earlier. "You just slapped me. If I landed in a time where you knew I was dead then you would think I was dead." The Doctor turned back towards Amy and Rory and fixed them with an intense look. "Why did you slap me instead of wondering why I was dead?"

"River told us," Amy answered. Her earlier flash of anger was gone just as quickly as it had appeared.

"Of course she did," the Doctor muttered to himself. "That woman, willing to go to prison so I can hide and then she goes and tells her parents the secret. Does she never make sense?"

Rory decided to interrupt the oddly dressed alien's discussion with himself. "So where are we supposed to be going?"

The Doctor looked. "I don't quite know exactly. I never quite do with River but that's what makes her so interesting. And infuriating."

"Oi, watch it! That's my daughter you're going on about." Amy might not be completely comfortable with her new role as an alien's mother in law, but that didn't mind she was going to listen to him talk about her daughter that way.

The Doctor looked repentant. "Right. Sorry. WELL! What do you say? One last trip before I have to disappear?"

Amy and Rory looked at each other. Their adventures with the Doctor in the past had been exciting, frightening, and occasionally deadly, but things always seemed to work out eventually. Besides, they had been through so much it would take a lot to surprise them now. Rory shrugged, and Amy turned back to the Doctor with an excited grin. "One last time."

The Doctor returned the grin. "Well, come along Ponds." The trio ran into the TARDIS, a few seconds later the police box disappeared.

A.N.- I've been reading fanfiction for years, but I'm new to writing it. I'm open to all the advice I can get. I really love _Doctor Who_ and I'd like to write something worthy of it. I don't really know where this story will end up, but the idea has been in my head for months and wouldn't go away. Please read and review.

I'm going back to fix (way more than) a few typos in these first chapters. Don't know how I can expect other people to read this if I don't even edit properly. It's a learning process I guess.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- The closest I come to owning Doctor Who is a mug where the TARDIS disappears & reappears when you put coffee in it. (For those of you who don't realize that isn't close at all.)

Chapter 2

Somewhere on a hillside in rural Tennessee the TARDIS appeared in the middle of a forest. Summer storms had left the plants dripping with water and the humidity at unbearable levels. The door creaked open and a head with floppy brown hair looked out into the trees. His overall impression was 'damp.'

"This can't be right." The Doctor said. He ran back up to the console and checked a few dials, gauges, and doohickeys to find whatever caused them to land in the middle of the woods. However, the coordinates seemed to match those River had sent him. Well close enough anyway; a few minutes of walking wouldn't hurt them. Probably. Maybe. Didn't matter anyway; by the time he looked up Amy and Rory were already out the door. The Doctor sighed about humans wandering off and ran out after them.

"Doctor, where are we?" Amy asked. She turned towards him as he shut the blue wooden doors.

"The woods somewhere." He raised his hand when Amy opened her mouth to point out how astoundingly helpful and informative his answer was. "America, I think. Still trying to figure it out."

The Doctor spent a few seconds turning in place, taking a few steps, returning to where he started, and repeating the whole process. To an observer he was either determining the correct route or searching for something he dropped. Finally he declared, "I've got it. Come along Ponds." With that he turned around….

...and came face to face with several blue whales.

Blue whales didn't live in the forest, and they were the wrong size. Also they were printed on a pair of rubber boots. That explained it. No, wait why were there boots in a tree? The Doctor's gaze continued upwards until he saw the legs the boots were attached to (denim covered), the body the legs were attached to (wearing a blue raincoat), and the face attached to everything (young girl, brown hair tied back, hazel eyes staring at him with a look of disbelief and confusion). "Oh, hello there," he offered to the girl in the tree.

She responded by looking more surprised and nudging him in the head with her boot. "Could you stop that please?" the alien asked her, "I don't generally like footwear in contact with my head. It usually ends badly."

The girl just gaped a bit more before she responded, "I don't generally have British people appear in my backyard. Here, hold this." A large backpack flew out of the tree to hit the Doctor in the chest.

"Oof," the Doctor scrambled to catch the offending bag. The girl hooked her knees around the branch she had been sitting on and flipped out of the tree. Her boots squished into the dank forest floor as she landed.

"Thanks," she said as she brushed herself off and reached over to take her bag. She swung the backpack over one shoulder and turned to look at Amy and Rory as they approached.

"You couldn't tell us where we are could you?" Rory asked politely.

"The woods in my back yard," she answered, "but how did you make that thing just appear?" she asked, pointing towards the TARDIS.

The three time travelers glanced at each other. "Oh, don't worry, that happens a lot. What's your name?" The Doctor tried to distract her from the Police box.

She raised an eyebrow at him but answered anyway. "Brooke."

"Well Brooke, could you direct us towards the nearest interesting place? Not that this place isn't interesting, but we're meeting someone and really need to get there on time. She has a habit of getting into trouble." The Doctor slapped his hand onto Brooke's shoulder good-naturedly.

The teenager raised her eyebrow again. "Um, you're really lost aren't you? The nearest 'interesting place' is a thirty minute walk and a two hour drive away. We're in the middle of nowhere, and I do not mean the woods. But really, how did three British people and a blue telephone booth appear in the middle of the woods?"

"Um…" Rory tried to come up with an excuse, "we were going backpacking?"

"You don't have backpacks."

Amy jumped in to help her poor husband, "our friend was supposed to bring the backpacks." The ginger knew the excuse was a bit thin, but there wasn't really a good way to explain the situation. 'The blue box is a time machine and we're trying to meet our grown-up daughter but we landed in the wrong spot.' That wouldn't work.

"I just watched it appear out of thin air. I sat in that tree," Brooke pointed to her perch, "listened to the awful noise it made, and watched three full grown people step out. This needs to be explained or I will leave you all in the middle of the woods."

Amy and Rory had run out of excuses; they both looked at the Doctor. He glanced back at them and then towards the raincoat-clad teenager. "It's a special type of tent actually. We were….camping while we waited for our friend. It had to rematerialize when we were done and we ended up here." The Doctor smiled. Amy hit her palm against her forehead at her friend's response; tents didn't rematerialize.

Brooke just started at the three people in front of her. They were obviously crazy, and there was something weird going on. Three foreigners just appeared in the woods with a large blue box and make up lame excuses about how and why they ended up in her backyard. She was about to say something about trespassing when her cell phone started vibrating in her pocket. "Crap, I'm late."

The girl flipped her phone open. "Hello?...yes mom, I know they're supposed to be here soon….no, I was just reading and I lost track of time…..okay, I'm on my way. But, um I found some crazy people and I don't know what to do with them…..well they just sort of appeared out of no where…..yes I know I can't just leave them out here…..but-….yes ma'am." Brooke snapped the phone shut with a groan and replaced it in her pocket.

The Doctor, Rory, and Amy had been watching the one sided conversation. Two of them were slightly offended at being called crazy; the other was trying to figure out why the girl seemed so familiar. Brooke looked at the trio and sighed. "My mother has invited you to dinner. For some reason she doesn't think it's weird the strangers just appeared out of thin air, and we had extra food anyway because we were expecting guests for dinner. So, um…follow me I guess." Her invitation delivered, Brooke turned and walked into the woods.

"Oooh, I love dinner." The Doctor clapped his hands in excitement, and he and the Ponds ran to catch up with the girl in rain boots.

Forty-five minutes, two over-filled streams, and three fences later they finally emerged into the backyard of a quaint farmhouse. It had started raining while they had been walking through a field so all four people were soaked through by the time they reached the back porch. None of the time travelers were dressed for hiking, and they were covered in mud.

Brooke deposited her wet backpack on a convenient chair inside the back door and turned to look at the others. She chewed her bottom lip as she examined her guests. Her own boots and raincoat had saved her from the worst of the soggy stroll, but the others looked like wet dogs. "I guess you can leave your shoes and socks in the laundry room. We might be able to find some of my aunt's and uncle's clothes for you to wear, but I don't really know how well it will fit." She led them through a door into a small room with a tiled floor. A washer and dryer stood in the corner. Brooke slid her boots off and set them on the rug; after a moment the others followed suite.

"I thought you were talking to your mother on the phone. Why would your aunt and uncle's clothes be here?" Rory asked as he struggled to remove his wet socks. He awkwardly hopped around on one foot and almost knocked Amy back onto the porch.

"It's their house." Brooke answered, "I live here on the farm with my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Mom just visits a lot so I get to see her. We were supposed to have people over for dinner tonight, but I don't know where they are."

"Why dear, they're right here." A familiar voice was heard from the door to the rest of the house. Four pairs of eyes turned towards the sound; three of them widened in shock.

"Mom, what?" Brooke said.

"River!" the Doctor could barely believe what he was seeing. Of all the impossible situations he had found this woman in over the years this might be the most unexpected. What was River Song, _the_ River Song, doing in a farmhouse in rural Tennessee?

The blonde just smiled with that grin that always promised a new adventure and all kinds of trouble. "Hello, Sweetie."

Rory and Amy just gaped. They knew they were meeting their daughter, but when they saw the surroundings when they landed they just assumed the Doctor had missed and ended up on one of his infamous detours.

The Doctor turned to face the girl that found them in the woods. "Brooke," he began in a serious tone, "what's your full name?"

The girl didn't understand why the three weird Europeans were staring at her, but she answered anyway. "Um, Song. Why does it matter?"

Rory regarded the teen. If she was River's daughter, that would explain why she looked familiar, but something didn't add up. Now that he knew the relation he could see the similarities. Their faces were similar, and the younger girl had Amy's nose. (Rory wondered how that trait got passed through River's regenerations to her daughter. The Doctor could probably explain.) But, as Rory kept looking, he realized there was still something wrong. Brooke had strait brown hair and hazel eyes. Rory's eyes were blue and his hair was a different color, so it couldn't have come from him. Maybe it came from her father. But, for some reason the combination seemed familiar...then it clicked. A shocked gasp escaped as Rory looked at the other people in the room.

While her husband was thinking internally, Amy's thought process was more vocal. She pointed at River, "you have a daughter? But how? When?" Amy kept turning back and forth between the two Songs. River was really Melody, who was her own daughter, and if her daughter had a daughter that made her, "a grandmother! How could I be a grandmother? I'm not even thirty!" The Scottish red head mentally groaned. She loved traveling with the Doctor, but for some reason it always screwed something up with her family. Right now she and Rory should be at home taking care of an infant. Instead they were an America visiting their grown up daughter who apparently had a teenage daughter of her own. Amy was too busy worrying about how they had ended up in their present situation puzzle out the strange girl's parentage.

The Doctor's expression was unreadable, and Brooke was unnerved by his intense stare as he tried to find an explanation just by looking at her. "I've got to go…change clothes." The excuse was lame, but the girl managed to escape up the stairs before her mother made her stay with the crazy people.

River chuckled at the reactions of her parents and the Doctor. She knew revealing Brooke's existence this way was a cruel joke, but one she enjoyed nonetheless. With a familiar smirk she said, "Oh, look at you three. Come on then. Dinner's already on the table, and we can't let it get cold."

She turned around and led the time travelers into a cozy looking kitchen. Paintings of various varieties of vegetable decorated the walls, and a large table was set with delicious looking food. There were dishes of mashed potatoes, green beans, and another, unrecognizable vegetable that was cut up and fried. There was even a large plate of fried chicken. The smell of pie filled the room from where the dessert was cooling on the stovetop.

Amy and Rory were still too shocked to protest as the blonde woman directed them into two seats under the window on the far side of the table from the door. The Doctor watched River intently but didn't speak when she pointed to a chair at one end of the table. River ignored the three people at the table as she fetched a pitcher of water from the fridge and began filling five glasses.

Just as River returned the pitcher to the fridge, Brooke walked in the room. At the sight of food the girl's eyes widened. "Why didn't you tell me Uncle David made chicken?"

River smiled at the girl as they both set down. "Well, your birthday is next week, and I'll have to leave by then. So I thought I'd surprise you tonight. Plus, we have important guests, so your uncle cooked for us."

Brooke immediately served her plate and began to eat, but the rest of the table looked at River, waiting for some sort of explanation. When none was forthcoming, Rory asked, "Who is Uncle David?"

"David and Karen Penn. This is their house. They've been taking care of Brooke for me. It is difficult to raise a child from a prison cell, but I've managed. They won't be joining us tonight though. Karen thought this was one visit she didn't want to watch, so they've taken their three children to David's parents for the night."

"River," the Doctor finally broke his silence, "whose daughter is she?"

"Mine." The blonde said flatly.

"That isn't what I meant."

Their gazes met for a few seconds in silent conversation. River was the first to glance away, but instead of answering the question she turned to her daughter. "Brooke how is school going?"

The teenager took a few seconds to realize someone was speaking to her. She looked up and swallowed her mouthful of food. "Um, it's summer so I don't have school, but Cross Country tryouts were last week." Brooke resumed eating, but not with her earlier enthusiasm.

"How did that go? Your old coach said you had a chance to be first string." River continued to ignore the other occupants at the table.

"Well regulations in High School are stricter. Coach Foster said I can't be on the team because I failed my physical. It's stupid though. I'm almost as good as some of the upperclassmen, but he won't let me because of the league rules." The girl started poking bits of food with her fork, brooding.

"Why did you fail your physical?" Rory asked.

"I have a heart condition, but it's not like it's a big deal. I've never had a problem with physical activity. If anything I'm in better shape than most people at my school." Brooke said in the tone irate teenagers have mastered.

"What kind of heart condition? You wouldn't happen to have any extraneous cardiovascular tissue?" The Doctor intertwined his fingers and placed his hands on the table.

"Actually, yeah. That was what the nurse called it. I don't see the big deal." Brooke continued to push her green beans around the plate then looked up. "Wait, how did you know that?"

"Doctor…I don't get it." Amy finally spoke up. "What does that 'extra whatever stuff' mean?"

"Well Amelia Pond, it seems your granddaughter had two hearts." The Doctor returned his gaze to River who simply looked back.

"But that still doesn't make sense. I thought you were the only one that-ohhh." Amy finally realized what most of the table had figured out. Her mouth dropped open and she looked between her daughter and her friend.

"Umm. Could someone please explain what's going on here?" Brooke set her fork down. She finally gave up on eating in favor of learning the big secret that somehow involved her. The girl looked to her mother for answers.

"Brooke, meet the Doctor-" River started.

"I already met him. I found them in the middle of the woods."

River gave the girl a stern gaze to prevent any more interruptions. "Brooke, hush. This man is from a different planet. He also happens to be your father."

Brooke looked back and forth between the two adults at either and of the table. She considered the Doctor for a moment. His bowtie was still a bit soggy and off kilter from the walk through the woods, and a twig stuck out of his wild hair. The coloring might resemble her own, but lots of people had brown hair.

"No," she stated bluntly.

"Excuse me miss, but I think I would remember," River said to the teen.

"I think I would remember too, but I don't." The Doctor's expression was still unreadable, but he definitely wasn't his usual silly, cheerful self. "could you explain to me how I have a daughter without any memory of creating one. River, the last time I saw you was at Lake Silencio. Yes we got married, but the universe was falling apart; there wasn't any time for…that."

The woman at the opposite end of the table only gave a familiar smirk as she replied with a single word, "Spoilers."

"Wait a second, what do you mean 'from a different planet,' and who are these people?" Brooke asked, pointing at Amy and Rory.

"These are your grandparents, Rory and Amy Pond." River answered.

"They can't be I know my grandparents. They're old, they live in Scotland, and their last name is Williams. We go to visit them every other Christmas. Aunt Karen always gets really excited to see her old friends. Uncle Arthur and Aunt Catherine bring Laci and Blaire from London, and we all open gifts." Brooke's speech sped up gradually as she went along. She started breathing too quickly as she looked around.

"Actually our last name is really Williams. The Doctor just keeps calling us by Amy's maiden name. It sort of stuck after awhile." Rory didn't always appreciate being ignored, but he loved Amy enough to ignore the name issue.

River reached out and placed her hand on Brooke's arm. "They are your grandparents. It's just a little complicated. The Doctor is an alien called a time lord and he can travel through time and space. I thought since you were turning sixteen it was time you traveled with him for a while. You're half time lord and it's time you experienced that part of your heritage."

The teenager's eyes lost focus for a few seconds. She took some deep breaths and replied with a steady voice, "I don't know what kind of joke this is but it isn't funny. You're all crazy." With that the girl stood and ran out of the kitchen. The adults could hear her stomp up the stairs and slam a door.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- I don't own the awesomeness that is Doctor Who.

Chapter 3

River heard Brooke slam her door and groaned. "Why must she be so difficult?" The woman looked at the Doctor, "I blame you for her ability to delude herself. Both of you ignore things you wish weren't true until you absolutely can't avoid them."

"What do you mean 'blame me?'" The Doctor asked indignantly. "She isn't really my daughter. I'm not responsible for her just because a future version of myself had a daughter without telling me." He chose to ignore his own poor logic in this situation. It wasn't as if he was prepared to raise a teenager, or anyone for that matter.

"Oh, but she is. More than you know. Why do you think I invited you here? The two of you have to meet sometime. She can't spend the rest of her life wasting away in backwater America. The Universe is part of her and she can never live up to her potential until she realizes that. You have to take her with you."

Rory cut in, "what is she doing here anyway? Why leave her in the middle of nowhere with strangers?"

River glanced at her father, "actually they aren't strangers. Karen really is her aunt, my sister, but I'm probably not supposed to tell you that. Spoilers. As for the location, Karen and David already lived here, and nothing ever happens. There is nothing in this area that would attract the attention of the Silence or anyone else with a grudge against the Doctor or me. We can't have anyone stumble across her. Brooke is much too important. I'm supposed to be in prison and he," she pointed at the Doctor sitting across from her, "is supposed to be dead. Think of the consequences if someone found her."

"How can she really be her aunt?" Amy asked. "We don't have anymore children. Do we?" She looked at her husband. Considering their last experience with childbirth it was a good idea to check.

"Not yet maybe, but you will." River replied. "What did you plan to do once you retired from full time companionship? Grow cabbages? Karen and Arthur are wonderful, although they never fully understood the idea of time travel or why their older sister wasn't at home. Why do you think Karen and her family aren't here? It's hard for her to see you when you're too young to even know about her. We've tried explaining the situation to David, but he doesn't understand or simply chooses to ignore it."

"But how is that possible? There hasn't been enough time for us to have two fully grown children with children of their own." Rory was trying to understand. He was finally starting to adjust to having _one_ fully grown and independent daughter; now she told him there were more children he'd never seen before.

River laughed as if his confusion were the funniest thing in the galaxy. "What year do you think it is? We're at least 45 years in your future at this point in the timeline. That's plenty of time for you to raise a proper family that doesn't involve headless monks."

Amy didn't believe what she was hearing. "45 years? But this house looks like it was furnished in the 1980's. Wouldn't styles have changed in all that time?"

"Style and technology have improved, but things move slower out here. David's family has owned this farm for almost 300 years, and their way of life hasn't changed much in that time. They're far away from the outside world, so it takes awhile for new ideas to reach them and even longer for those ideas to take hold. Like I said, nothing ever happens here. This whole area is practically a temporal dead zone; it's a perfect place to hide something of incredible importance."

"But why now?" the Doctor asked. "Why do you suddenly decide she should travel with me now? She's a teenager that has never known a father or another life. How is she suddenly going to adjust to time travel?"

"Sweetie, since when did you concern yourself with how people _adjusted_ to traveling with you?" River rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah Doctor, last time I checked you just crash land into people's lives and fly away with them." Amy leaned forward to place her elbow on the table with her chin resting on her palm.

"Ahh. Well, I have a good judge of character and I only travel with people who can handle the strain." Three pairs of eyes looked at him disbelievingly. "Okay fine I fly away with them, at least I give everyone an option to stay." He pouted at his friend's attitudes. "But anyway, why didn't you send me a message later in my time stream so I actually knew I had a daughter?"

"Actually it was your idea. For some reason you said it was important that you meet her when you're younger. You wouldn't tell me why of course, but that's how it usually goes isn't it?" The curly blonde shot him a naughty wink.

The Doctor only sighed and pushed the ends of his bangs out of his face. "River, River, River." He knew digging deeper wouldn't help. She wouldn't tell him anything important and he would only come up with more frustrating questions without answers. Instead, the alien man focused on the meal in front of him. "Well, what do you say we enjoy some of this delicious looing food before we have to go? All this talk is nice, but one should always be fed right before a big run. You might cramp up of course, but Brooke had plenty to eat. We might as well level the playing field before we chase after her. Wouldn't want it to be too easy, would we." He rubbed his hands together in anticipation and grabbed a piece of chicken off the plate. "Amy, could you pass the okra?"

The red head looked confused, "the what?"

The Doctor pointed to the bowl in front of her. "Okra. It's a green vegetable, best picked when the seedpods are about the length of your finger. In this area people cut them up to fry or put them in jars like pickles.

"Wait Doctor, what did you mean?" Rory asked

"Hmm? People make pickled okra. It's quite disgusting actually, very slimy."

"No, what did you mean about having to chase Brooke? You were talking about eating and you said we had to chase her." Rory always wondered if the alien man really didn't understand his questions or was only patronizing him.

The Doctor smiled and spooned some of the friend mystery vegetable (okra apparently) onto his plate. "Well she hasn't been upstairs for about ten minutes now. One can assume all this excitement frightened her off."

The three humans (well mostly) at the table could only reply with shocked exclamations. River left the table to check upstairs; the three remaining at the table heard muffled cursing. When she returned to the kitchen she said, "He's right. She climbed right out the window."

Amy looked out the window doubtfully. It was beginning to get dark and she didn't fancy another hike through wet, unfamiliar woods. "How are we supposed to find her? She could be in the middle of the forest by now, and I, for one, am not much of a woodsman. Plus I've been in there once today, and I'm still gross." Amy gestured to her damp, mud-stained clothing.

"We'll split up. Amy, you and the Doctor go find Brooke." River help up her hand as the Doctor started to comment on his own sub-par abilities as a tracker. "Sweetie, use the sonic. Setting 7835 should lead you strait to her. Rory and I will go find get the TARDIS and meet you."

"River, setting 7835 is for tracking huon energy. I don't see how that's going to help." The Doctor asked as he tore off bits of roll to eat.

"I'm aware of that, and it will work. Now go." River was losing patience with her once (or future) lover. She dragged him out of his chair by the sleeve of his jacket and gestured towards the door.

The alien man stood up, straitened his jacket, and adjusted his bowtie. "Fine, but can we at least take the pie?"

Amy and the Doctor were running down the road in the darkening summer evening. Luckily the road was paved; Amy didn't think she could handle running down a backcountry dirt road that would have been ankle deep mud in this weather. Adding to her relief was the fact that it had stopped raining and the clouds had broken up a bit. Unfortunately her improving mood was countered by having to run down said country road while carrying a fudge pie.

"Doctor!" she yelled at the man running a few feet in front of her. He was gesturing wildly with the sonic as he ran; the screwdriver emitted a familiar humming noise an its owner checked, gestured, and rechecked the readings. "Why do we have to bring the pie?"

The time lord answered without breaking stride. "Because Amy, never turn down good food when it's offered, especially when it isn't poisoned. Also it was Brooke's birthday dinner, so everything was some of her favorite food. She ran out before dessert, but she might be more willing to stop and listen to us if we make a peace offering."

"I thought she was supposed to be smart. You really think she's going to fall for bribing her with pie?"

"Amy, never underestimate the influence of an adolescent stomach. Now come along, Pond. We're almost there."

The pair ran for a few more minutes before they saw a figure on the road in front of them. As they got closer they saw that indeed it was Brooke. She had her arms through the handles of a large duffel bag so it served as a backpack, and a messenger bag was slung across her body to hang at her side. Amy expected her to hear them and run off, but white earphones became visible as they got closer. Of course a teenager would have their music up too loud to hear someone sneaking up on her on a dark night in the middle of nowhere.

The Doctor was the first to catch up to the girl. He ran in front of her and placed his hand on her shoulder to halt her movement. She looked up and recoiled when she saw who was touching her. She turned around only to see Amy right behind her.

Amy had a long day. First the Doctor appeared in her yard, then they spent and hour tramping through the woods, then River told her that, not only did she have two more children in the future, she was a grandmother as well. Now she had to run down the road in the dark carrying a pie. Overall it hadn't left her with much stamina. "We have the *wheeze* stupid pie for you. Now you better stop _right now_ or we *huff* are going to have a problem."

Brooke watched in confusion as the young woman who was supposed to be her grandmother tried to regain her breathe. "What are you people doing here?"

The Doctor walked over to face her. "Well Brooke, apparently you are very special. I don't remember having a daughter, but honestly stranger things have happened when River is involved. So we thought we would officially invite you to join us on the TARDIS to enjoy all the wonders of time and space. We can go anywhere, anytime we want to. So Brooke Song, what do you say to that?" He tried to sling his arm around her, but the duffel bag got in the way; the Doctor ended up with his elbow propped up on Brooke's shoulder.

Brooke gave a semi-crazy chuckle and scooted a few inches to distance herself from the Doctor's arm. "No way am I ever going anywhere with you, Stranger Danger and everything. Plus, you're insane."

The girl was to busy staring at the crazy people in front of her to suspect her mother to come from behind. A small black device touched the girl's neck and she slipped into unconsciousness. River grabbed her under the arms and dragged her back towards the blue box that had recently made its silent appearance a few meters down the road.

"River!" the Doctor hissed as he followed his wife (technically in another dimension that didn't exist anymore, but it still counted) and unconscious daughter (still questionable. He needed more time to sort it out) into the TARDIS control room. "You didn't have to stun her! She was listening to us. I had everything under control."

Amy snorted when she walked in behind her friend. "She refused and insulted you. That definitely means you had everything under control. She was probably just waiting for us to let our guards down so she could run off again."

River dragged Brooke's body up the stairs and proceeded to remove the luggage from the girl's shoulders. She placed her daughter in a chair next to the console. "Sorry, Sweetie, but Amy is probably right. Brooke is terribly clever, too clever for her own good sometimes. A bit like someone else I know." River shot the Doctor a look as he walked up the stairs. "Besides, it will wear off in a few minutes."

Brooke had a headache. She slowly opened her eyes to four faces: her mother, the people who were supposed to be her grandparents, and a fool in a tweed jacket. She let at a groan and tried to sit up.

The room looked very strange. The walls were gold metal and the whole room was filled with a soft light. A large console filled with every kind of ridiculous instrument dominated the center of the room. The center column moved up and down with a soft whirring noise. There was something else too; Brooke felt a little tickle in the back of her mind. It wasn't quite a voice, more like a hint of a whisper. Brooke decided it was only the trauma of the last few hours.

"Good, you're finally awake. Sorry about your mother; I never really know what to expect from her, but things usually work out in the end." Brooke was only half awake, but she could recognize the Doctor on the opposite side of the console. "Welcome to the TARDIS, Time and Relative Dimensions in Space. She usually goes around looking like a police box. Of course I say usually, always really. But it never stops her from taking us all over the universe."

Brooke groaned again and tried to stand up. Amy reached out to catch her as she wobbled. "Just sit back down. You don't want to hurt yourself right after you wake up."

The teenager ignored the advice. Instead she bolted out of chair, down the stairs, and across the room.

"I wouldn't go that way." Rory tried to warn her, but Brooke had already thrown herself out of the wooden doors. Luckily, River had anticipated something like this. She reached adjusted a few things on the console to extended the internal atmosphere. Wouldn't want her daughter to asphyxiate in the vacuum of space.

"YEAGH!" Brooke screamed as she found nothingness where she was expecting forest floor.

All four adults ran over to the doors to see Brooke slowly spinning a few feet away. Her eyes were opened in panic as she floated. When she saw a large blue box behind her she tried to make her way back towards the open doors. Swimming motions did nothing but trigger laughter from the observers.

"Don't just stand there, pull me back in!" She yelled at them.

After a few minutes of reaching and panic, Brooke was back on board. She knelt on the floor and hyperventilated a bit.

"Oh, stop being ridiculous. You're fine." River was losing patience with the girl's behavior.

Brooke took a few deep breaths before she was calm enough to stand up and look at her mother with a look of disbelief. "Mom, what is wrong with you? WE'VE BEEN ABDUCTED BY ALIENS! How can you be so calm about this! Did they do something to your brain? Did they replace you with an evil robot? Are you a clone? What are they going to do with us?" Brooke grabbed River's shoulders and shook as she continued the flood of questions. "Who are you, and WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY MOTHER!"

The blonde only rolled her eyes as the teenager worked herself into a panic. Instead of replying River reached in her pocket. She put the small device against Brooke's neck and pressed a button. Brooke's eyes rolled back in her head as she slumped forward. River caught her, and Rory helped carry the girl back to the previously vacated chair.

Brooke blinked as she regained consciousness. She was still in the strange room. Crap, so this wasn't a dream. Or, it was a very elaborate dream that had been going on for a long time and was impossible to wake up from. And that weird noise was still there. What was that? She tried to ignore it but her headache just got worse. She groaned.

"You're not going to run away again are you?" Amy sounded concerned although it was difficult to determine if it was for the well being of her future granddaughter or the thought of another attempt to fish a teenager out of space.

Once again Amy was ignored as the girl stood and stretched her arms back as she stood. Luckily she gave no indication that she was about to bolt. Brooke yawned and regarded the adults. Her gaze settled on River. "Mom, I feel like crap. What did you do?"

"Oh nothing much. Simply a little something to make sure you didn't cause any more trouble." The woman answered.

"We're in the box. We're in a _wooden box_ in _space._" Brooke scratched her head and collapsed back into the chair. Standing really wasn't worth the effort when she also had to think about impossible situations.

"Aren't you going to ask why it's bigger on the inside?" Rory asked.

"Of course it is." Brooke looked at him like he was crazy (which she definitely thought they all were in case anyone was wondering). "How else would three grown people walk out of it without being completely uncomfortable. It would have to have extra space somehow.

"How did you even find it? I led them in circles for miles before I brought them to the house. And how did you get me from the middle of the road to the middle of the woods?"

"Wait, you mean we didn't have to walk all that way? Why would you do that?" Amy hadn't enjoyed their trek through the forest or the sprint down a backcountry road. Plus she didn't like being ignored. Twice. This girl was getting more irritating as time passed.

"Yes, you're right. I should have taken the magic strangers that mysteriously appeared strait to where I lived. It really doesn't matter that they were totally insane and could have been burglars or serial killers or something." Brooke replied in such an even tone that the sarcasm took a moment to register.

Before the fiery Scottish woman could reply, the Doctor walked around the console. "We didn't carry you through the woods. River materialized the TARDIS near where we were on the road. Speaking of which, River how did you know where we were?" The Doctor raised an eyebrow at his wife.

The blonde replied with her ever frustration smirk. "The same way you did. I just followed the huon particles."

"What? That doesn't make any sense. She's a person. Even if she were half time lord she wouldn't have a high enough concentration to _track. _Actually, the only reason that would happen is if she was being exposed because of an employer's meddling with an alien race. Admittedly it has happened before…but only once." The Doctor started pacing as he contemplated the problem. He eventually stopped pretending to talk to the others and began muttering to himself. "Unless there was a source…. No. No, not a source a, a holding thing." he gestured in frustration.

"A container?" Rory asked

"Exactly! Your brilliant Rory." The Doctor patted him on the shoulder and resumed pacing. "There isn't another source, but if you took some from the TARDIS and found a way for a person to carry it around the TARDIS would easily be able to find it. It would act like a magnet and draw the TARDIS strait to it. River didn't give us coordinates to the woods; Brooke pulled us there! Oh this is brilliant." He clapped his hands together and grinned.

River grinned back and looked down at Brooke. "Show him your locket."

Brooke gave her mother a questioning look, but pulled a golden chain out from under her shirt. The charm attached to it wasn't a traditional locket. There was no compartment for a picture. Instead there was a small hourglass filled with tiny specks of gold dust, the aforementioned huon particles. The glass was suspended in the center of three gold rings of different sizes that spun in different directions when flicked in just the right way. The rings were covered tiny engravings.

"It's beautiful" Amy exclaimed.

The doctor crouched down for a closer look. He held out his hand, "May I?"

Brooke gave him a questionable stare but eventually slipped the chain over her head and placed the necklace in his outstretched hand.

The Doctor turned the charm over in his hands as he studied it. "This writing, it's Gallifreyan, and its familiar."

River rolled her eyes at the man. "Of course it's Gallifreyan. You made it."

"But I made it in the future. It shouldn't seem familiar if I haven't made it. Unless…" the time lord examined the writing again from a different angle. He spun the rings around and seemed to sag. A look of ancient sadness crossed his face and was gone as quickly as it had come. He rocked on his feet and stood up. He handed the necklace back to Brooke.

The girl had been very uncomfortable as the strange man studied her locket. She had vague memories of her mother telling her to take good care and never lose it. Brooke took the advice seriously and wore the necklace at all times. She never remembered a time before the hourglass on the golden chain.

"You can read this?" The question was almost a whisper. Brooke had always wondered about he strange writing, but the Internet hadn't done much to help her translate during the several occasions she searched for answers. She looked up at this strange man that was supposed to be her father. "What does it say?"

"It's a lullaby. A lullaby from a planet long dead." The Doctor awkwardly wiped his hands on the front of his jacket. He turned and walked around the console. The center column moved up and down slowly and obscured the Doctor's face.

The room was very quiet as the human (well, mostly) occupants looked at the alien man. He didn't show his age often, but occasionally something would throw him into a dark mood that his friends didn't know how to dispel.

The hush stretched for a few minutes longer until finally the Doctor clapped his hands together. The sound echoed around the console room like thunder and broke the awkward silence.

"How about we go somewhere? Are you ready for and adventure Brooke? Places to meet, people to do, things to go—wait, that isn't right. Anyway, what do you say?" The alien man seemed to shook off whatever was bothering him a few seconds earlier. He made up for the earlier silence with boisterous enthusiasm.

"Um…" Brooke started, but before she could finish the Doctor began wildly running around the console. He fiddled with various instruments as he ran by, turned around, and ran back in the direction he started from. Finally he stopped with his hand on the lever that would send the TARDIS spinning through the vortex.

"Geronimo," and they were off.

A.N.—I'm sorry if this all seems really confusing. I tried to spread out the introductions so it wouldn't be too rushed, but it might not have worked. There is a lot going on, but hopefully everything will make sense eventually. A few people mentioned that River's reveal was too soon, but you have to consider that she wasn't only revealing it to the Doctor. Amy any Rory have learned not to question the weird mystery/flirting thing that they do, but Brooke hasn't. She is a teenager who thinks she knows everything & gets annoyed when she doesn't. If the explanation of why strangers in the woods were the expected dinner guests had taken too long, Brooke would just get more frustrated. Whatever, I'm probably only saying this to justify my oversight. I hope you enjoy the story anyway.

The locket is supposed to look a bit like a time turner from Harry Potter (which I also don't own) crossed with the gallifreyan designs with all of the circles.

Also I want to thank everyone that reviewed. You're reaction was honestly better than I ever expected. Thank You.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- still don't own it, but if I ever do I'll let you know

ALSO: I know little to nothing about Ancient Chinese culture/history/mythology, but I thought it would make and interesting chapter. Any information on the afore mentioned subjects was found on Wikipedia. Not the greatest source I know, but this isn't a research paper. Basically, please don't get offended if I get something wrong. Expect me to get something wrong and then feel good about yourself because you know more about it.

Chapter 4

Somewhere in Ancient China, there was a disturbance in a field of rice patties. Honestly this disturbance wasn't nearly as bad as the others that had occurred recently, so it didn't attract much notice. A strange whirring sound was heard (well, would have been heard if there was anyone around). A large blue box blinked in and out of visibility before finally landing on a raised dry patch.

The wooden door opened and five figures stepped out. One was almost bouncing with excitement as he explained where and when they were. Two women listened with varying degrees of acknowledgment. The other man took a few steps as he looked around. Unfortunately, he stepped off of the narrow raised walkway and soaked his shoe. He muttered about 'just changing' and 'second time today,' but eventually walked back over to the others. The last, smallest, figure seemed nauseous. She laid flat on the ground holding her stomach and trying to ignore the adults around her.

The Doctor was exhibiting his usual enthusiasm for a new place and the adventures in store. "Does anyone want to guess where we are? Anyone? Pond, what about you?" He looked at Amy and raised an eyebrow.

Amy looked around. She saw acres of fields and a little village in the distance. Behind the cluster of low wooden buildings, a forest stood behind a small river. A beautiful mountain rose over the trees in the distance. "Well, it looks like earth, but definitely not recently. So earth in the past." She looked pleased with herself.

"Exactly right Amy, but we need a little more specific that that." Usually the Doctor told his companions where they landed, but he found he liked this new game. He turned to the queasy teenager hoping for another participant. "What about you Brooke? This is your first trip; any guesses on where we landed? Anywhere in space and time and here we are. Of course Amy already said earth, but guessing is fun."

Brooke looked up at the man who simply would not stop talking. She wasn't feeling well enough to deal with his chatter. When the strange space ship had started moving the ache in her head seemed to fill her whole body. She felt nauseous and her body ached, but the worst pain was in her head. Her mind felt like something was trying to tear its way into her consciousness, an alien presence or a memory long forgotten.

Thankfully the feeling stopped as soon as she stepped out if the box, but the effects were slow to wear off. She lay on the ground trying to prevent violent motion sickness, and this stupid Doctor guy was rambling on about nothing. Finally her desire to shut him up won out over her resolve to ignore him completely.

Brooke lifted her head to look around for a moment before saying, "Yeaguhah." Brooke laid her head back down and pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes in an attempt to block out the world.

"Um, no. Actually that's several galaxies away. We're in Ancient China around..." the Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his coat pocket. He pressed the button as he waved it around. He studied a result only he could see and continued talking. "1017 BC. Should be the third emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. Actually I believe Emperor Zhao is in charge right now. Of course it's hard to keep up with all these human monarchs. They keep changing and using each other's names. Makes things quite confusing." He looked down at the girl but only received another groan as a response.

While the others were playing the Doctor's new game of Guess-Where-I-was-Clever-Enough-to-Bring-Us (he had probably been trying for somewhere else anyway) River was looking at their surroundings.

"Doctor!" the blonde yelled, "you should probably take a look at this." She turned around to make sure she had his attention, but the alien man was already jogging to her side.

The sight wasn't a good one. The TARDIS was parked in the middle some rice fields, but something was wrong. Many of the young plants were crushed or uprooted entirely; the water level was higher than it should have been, even though the fields were supposed to be flooded. Plus there was a very large very nasty looking cloud coming strait for them.

"Oh don't worry. It's just a spot of bad weather." Lightning flashed and the following crash of thunder politely disagreed with the Doctor's assessment. He frowned and pulled out the sonic. After a quick scan he frowned again and returned his screwdriver to its pocket. "Right, well then we should probably see if someone would let us borrow an umbrella." With that he started down the dirt path towards the cluster of buildings in the distance.

Amy and Rory quickly started after him, but River stayed behind. Brooke was still flat on the ground and showing no inclination to move anytime anytime soon.

"Oh, stop sulking and get up." River was getting fed up with her daughter's behavior. The girl was too stubborn for her own good. Of course she got it honestly. Both her parents shared the habit of wanting everything their own way, and don't even get started on Amy. But, that still wasn't an excuse for pouting.

"Ugh. No way. I'm going to lay here until I wake up and I'm back in my bedroom at home." Brooke didn't even uncover her eyes.

"No, you're going to lay there until I stop paying attention to you. Then you'll open your eyes and find yourself in ancient China while the only people who can get you home walk farther away." With that River started after the others.

Brooke remained still for a few seconds. Then she peeked through her fingers only to find that her mother was already a good distance away. She sat up quickly in indignation. She yelled at her the blonde's retreating back. "You're just going to leave me here? You're a terrible parent!"

"If you say so." River yelled back and kept walking.

Brooke considered her options for a few seconds. Even if she hadn't noticed that Doctor lock the TARDIS door she wasn't in much of a hurry for her headache to return. Standing out in the open waiting on a huge storm wasn't appealing either. However little she liked it, the best decision was to follow the others to the village.

"Okay fine, but I'm still not happy about this." Brooke scrambled to her feet and hurried to catch up.

As the group walked closer they saw figures moving between the buildings in the distance. Villagers performed all the mundane little tasks that are required for a village to function. However, by the time they reached the main path the street was completely still. People left their tasks half done as they stared at the strangers. Amy tried to smile reassuringly at some children who had frozen in the middle of their game, but her efforts only caused them to run over to a group of women around a large pot of rice.

"Doctor," Amy whispered, "what's wrong with these people? Why are they looking at us like that?"

River answered her mother. "Because they don't know what we are. The first European traders didn't reach China until Marco Polo in 1261."

They continued to walk down the center of the main path. Dozens of eyes followed their progress.

Eventually they met a wizened old man standing in the middle of the path. Assuming the old man was at least somewhat in charge, the Doctor retrieved the wallet containing the psychic paper and held it out. "Hello, I'm the Doctor and we're from the ministry of agriculture and were wondering what happened to your fields. Also there is a nasty storm coming, so we would greatly appreciate it if you could show us somewhere out of the weather to talk and enjoy some tea.

Brooke rolled her eyes. "How is that going to help? They're Chinese; he isn't going to understand English let alone be able to read it, especially if we did somehow end up 200 years before European contact."

However, the old man defied the forces of teenage logic and began to speak in a language that sounded very much like English. "We don't know what we have done to offend you demons, but our village has nothing else to give. Thieves have taken everything of value and the storms have left us with little enough to feed ourselves. Be gone strange monsters and leave us in peace."

"We're not demons." The Doctor said. He checked the psychic paper to see if that was the source of the confusion. "Look," he pointed at the paper, "it clearly says that we're government officials here to help you. We don't plan on taking anything."

River placed a hand on the Doctor's back as if she were comforting a child. "Sweetie, he probably can't read so the paper won't work. He just sees people who look strange, and based on the reactions, these people haven't had good experiences with strangers in the past."

The alien man continued to pout for a second, but quickly shook it off. Instead he gave a big smile and tried again. "Sorry for the confusion, but we really don't plan on terrorizing the village. We would much rather have a cup of tea and a few jammy dodgers. So why don't you tell us about the strange weather you've been experiencing recently." The Doctor threw his arm around the old man's shoulders and earned a wary look.

The village elder was very confused. These strangers looked very odd, but they claimed they weren't evil. Although there wasn't anyone in the village who could do anything if the pale people with strange faces did intend harm. Perhaps it was better to indulge them until he could understand more about their intentions and who, or what, they were. None of them looked to particularly threatening, but the elder would appreciate if the strange smiling man would remove his arm.

"Please follow me," without another word the old man turned and walked towards one of the houses that surrounded the street.

The Doctor, Amy, and River immediately started after him. Brooke remained still, and Rory stood next to the girl and simply waited for the inevitable questions.

"Bu-, but how did? He was speaking English. How could he be speaking English?" Brooke looked like a frightened fish with wide eyes and her mouth opening and closing in shock. She turned her head to stare at Rory.

"The TARDIS gets inside your head and translates different languages. He was speaking Chinese, but the translator made you hear English." Rory remembered his first time traveling with the Doctor and felt sorry for the girl. The whole experience was a bit frightening, and none of the others seemed willing to explain anything to Brooke. It was the least he could do, especially if Brooke was his future granddaughter. He nudged her on the shoulder. "Come on, we better follow or they'll leave us. None of them really pay attention when we first get somewhere."

The teenager's expression remained the same but she followed Rory's instructions. They'd caught up with everyone else before she could speak again. "A blue box that's bigger on the inside, disappears in different times and places, _and_ makes people in different countries speak the same language. Is there anything it _can't_ do?"

"Take us to the right place?" Amy replied

"Disguise it self as something useful?" Rory added.

They both looked at each other and said, "get rid of bunk beds."

"Oy! Stop it you two." The Doctor turned around to interrupt their list. The accusations might be true, but even his friends didn't get to make fun of he TARDIS.

Brooke was rather confused. Apparently this conversation came up frequently.

The dwelling the elder led them to was slightly larger than those around it. It also seemed in slightly better condition, which seemed to indicate the old man was someone important. He motioned for the group to sit on cushions around a low table.

There was an elderly woman next to a fire in the far corner and, at the sight of guests coupled with some definite urging via hand motions from her (everyone assumed) husband, she began to make tea. Once the drink had been prepared and passed around the elder began to speak.

"We are a small village and very poor. We do not know what we have done to offend the gods, but we will do everything in our power to make amends if you explain our shortcomings. Please go back to your masters and tell them to stop the rains. We cannot survive if our crops are drowned." The old man looked very grave as he made his plea. His eyes focused on the silly looking man who had addressed him before.

The Doctor sighed, "I already said we aren't any sort of mystical creatures and we don't work for the gods. Plus I couldn't control the weather if I wanted to, and I do want to on occasion. Actually if I had a meteorological disturbance device… and a paper clip…." The Doctor got lost in his mind for a few seconds before remembering he was in the middle of a conversation. "Well never mind. I'm the Doctor, and if you tell us what's going on I promise we will do everything in our power to set it right." The Doctor hoped an endearing smile would ease the old man's apparent uneasiness.

The elder stared at the Doctor silently for a few seconds before starting his story. "Several months ago a group of bandits moved into the woods nearby. They began harassing travellers and stealing from our village. One day the leader heard a local legend about the dragon's treasure hidden on the great mountain on the other side of the forest. He swore to find the treasure and take it for his own. Soon after we began to experience powerful storms out of their usual season. These tempests have destroyed our crops and are surely caused by the enraged dragons whose treasure was stolen. The bandits have been kidnapping women as sacrifices to appease the dragons, but the terrible storms continue. I fear that if this continues our village will not survive much longer."

Brooke leaned over to Rory and whispered in his ear, "there's no such thing as dragons is there?" True the giant magic lizards had always been one of her favorite mythical creatures, but her excitement waned at the prospect of meeting one, especially if it was enraged.

"Nonexistent things and the Doctor seem to be attracted to each other. It's better not to assume and just go with it." Rory replied.

"Right. I've obviously been drugged without my knowledge and am now in some sort of dream coma. I should just go with the flow until the effects wear off." She still refused to accept that they were truly in Ancient China where dragons get revenge for stolen treasure by sending bad weather. Brooke tried pretending the whole thing was one of the books she liked to read instead of a drug induced hallucination.

River leaned over from Brooke's other side. "You aren't dreaming and you aren't drugged. This is really happening." She whispered to the girl.

Brooke responded by humming quietly to herself.

The Doctor was oblivious to the quiet conversation going on at the other side of the table. He continued talking to the old man. "Bandits and storms. Sounds nasty, but I usually like dragons, except when they try to kill me, which is actually most of the time, so I guess I don't usually like dragons after all. But the point is I would usually like them if they weren't usually trying to kill me" the Doctor noticed the look he was getting. "I did it again didn't I? Sorry I lose track of thoughts half way through. Anyway, if you tell us where to find these bandits we can return the stolen treasure and hopefully these dragons will be willing to stop the giant storms. How does that sound?"

The old man looked at the Doctor in disbelief. Every time he opened his mouth he seemed stranger. "I'm sorry, but I do not know where they have their camp. Besides what could five of you hope to do against a whole band of murderous brutes?"

"Actually you'd be surprised. We've dealt with much worse than murderous brutes-" The Doctor took a breath to elaborate further, but before he could start the story about how a flock of steel crows tried to eat an entire city, a commotion from outside interrupted him.

Everyone ran outside to find total chaos. Instead of the peaceful (although strangely silent) image from before, the air was filled with screaming and the pounding of hooves. Men on horse back ran down villagers who scrambled to find shelter inside their crude houses. Baskets and cooking pots were knocked aside and their contents spilled on to the ground to be pounded into the mud. Over the sounds of women screaming and children crying, the bandits laughed at the terror they inspired. The whole scene was more than a little frightening.

In a vain attempt to lighten the mood the Doctor said, "well, at least this saves us the trouble of trying to find them."

Amy turned to look at him. "Really? That's what you're thinking about right now?"

"Hmm? Oh right. We should probably do something."

With that the group ran in different directions. Rory grabbed two children around their waists and practically threw them inside the nearest hut before turning around to find someone else. The Doctor was attempting to herd some panicked villagers towards the surrounding fields. River pulled out a gun, remembered it could probably throw a kink in the stream of causality, and started shooting anyway. Brooke ran around with wide eyes and tried to avoid being trampled by horses and people alike. The old man hobbled back inside to his wife; he hadn't lived to be that old by putting himself in danger every time brigands attacked.

Amy ran to help a man lying in a pile of spilled rice. His head was bleeding from falling and hitting the cooking pot, and he wasn't moving. Unfortunately before Amy could reach him, a powerful arm locked around her waist and pulled her up across the back of a horse.

"AAAAAHHHH" Amy screamed as she looked at the dirty bearded face of her captor.

Rory looked up when he heard something all too familiar. "AMY!" he yelled and began running after the horse containing his wife.

Brooke looked up at the sound of the scream too. She saw Rory running towards her and turned around to see a large man galloping off with her (supposed) grandmother. Brooke started running too in the hope that she could actually catch up since she was closer.

Unfortunately she ran strait into another bandit who came round the corner of a nearby house. He had lost his horse to River's marksmanship (which was a little off apparently. She'd been aiming for his head, but who could blame a girl under stress?) but was more than happy to see a change of fortune brought a girl to him. He gave a gap toothed grin and knocked Brooke unconscious with the butt of his rusty sword. After relieving a lower ranking thug of his horse, the large man threw his prize over the saddle and galloped away.

The leader yelled something unintelligible and the whole troop vanished into the forest as quickly as it had appeared.

Rory vainly tried to keep up with Amy's kidnapper, but he tripped over the body of a trampled peasant and fell face-first into the mud. "No," he groaned and rolled onto his back. "Amy…ugh" he decided lying in the muddy street was better than trying to stand up after he had just watched his wife disappear. Again.

A/N- Okay, I'm stupid. Start writing a story right before the busiest month of the semester: terrible idea. Sorry this took so long but I'm still sort of new at this whole writing thing and didn't consciously realize that it required more creative brainpower than a normal essay. (Also sort of new to the whole 'college' thing, which requires a lot of time as well.) But I have 1 more week of classes and then finals and then Christmas Break, which lasts until January, which should mean I have more time to work on this. So please don't give up on me. I promise the next chapter will be more exciting and be ready sometime before New Year's (or at least one of those things.)


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- The closest I come to owning Doctor Who are the various Christmas gifts I received this year. :)

Chapter 5

Sometimes there were days when things didn't really work out for Rory Williams (usually Pond). Unfortunately these days were all too common and seemed to happen all at once. And apparently dying wasn't enough for the universe any more. In the last year he had seen his wife turn to goop, fought a war to rescue her and their child, lost the child only to learn that it was River all along who also happened to be their childhood friend, he almost died a few more times, and found out that his daughter grew up to have a daughter of her own with the Doctor of all people. Now he had just watched as Amy was carried off on the back of a bandit's horse. No, things just weren't going well for Rory.

All around the small village people were coming out of their huts to survey the damage. The main path had been torn apart by hooves and the light rain that had started falling was quickly turning it into a muddy mess. Pieces of broken pots or ripped baskets were scattered across the ground. The worst part was the bodies. Villagers of all ages had been cut down or trampled. The injured let out pitiful moans as their neighbors gently carried them to the elder's hut for medical care.

A few bandits didn't escape. Several had been shot down by River, but a brave young man from the village had managed to brain one villain with a broken ax handle. Those bodies were given much harsher treatment than those of the fallen villagers. A few horses had also fallen and a group of older women emerged from a hut and began cleaning the animals for cooking. A starving settlement couldn't afford to waste a meal.

Rory ignored the activity around him. He sat on his knees in the mud and stared in the direction where the bandits had disappeared into the forest. He didn't feel the rain slowly pick up or the bleeding scratch on his arm where he had fallen against a shard of pottery in the mad rush to save whomever he could. He just stared.

The Doctor saw Rory kneeling in the mud and slowly walked over. He reached down and gently shook Rory's shoulder. "Come on, you'll find her. You always do." The Doctor shook a bit harder and ten crouched down to get a better look at his friend.

"Doctor I hunted men like that when I was a Roman. I know it technically never happened, but I remember. They don't have any pity; they're barely even human." Rory spoke but he kept staring towards the forest and the mountain and his lost wife (and granddaughter, whose abduction he had seen but not really registered after the shock of losing Amy again.)

"Well, We'll just have to find them quickly. Besides the elder said they were kidnapping women to feed to the angry dragons so maybe nothing too terrible will happen to them." The Doctor grabbed Rory's hand and pulled him to his feet. "Let's go find River and figure out how to find the bandit hideout."

"'Maybe they'll feed her to a_ dragon_? Nothing_ too_ terrible?' Why is that supposed to make me feel better?" The Doctor's attempt at comfort only served to make Rory more agitated.

"Um…well. *cough* let's go find River." The Doctor chuckled nervously and nudged Rory in the direction he had last seen River.

River had her hands full. She hadn't missed the abduction of her mother and daughter, but she'd been a bit distracted. One of the outlaws had tried to take River and found himself with more than he could handle. Now the unlucky bandit was flat on the ground with a gun to his head.

"Where have they gone?" River managed to stay calm but her tone made it very clear that she wasn't happy and the man's life depended on improving her mood.

The bandit could do nothing but whimper.

"River!" The Doctor yelled as he and Rory came walking over to her. "River you can't just go around shooting people. They don't have those types of weapons yet. You could have ripped a hole in the universe."

"Sweetie, I altered a fixed point and a destroyed time for you. Do you really think I care about advanced weaponry in ancient China when they just ran off with my daughter?" River ignored the scolding and kept her blaster pointed and the prone man's head.

"Now," she said to the whimpering bandit, "you're gong to lead us to you're hideout or I'm going to make a new hole in your skull. Get up and start walking." She kicked him in the side and he winced.

The Doctor leaned over to help the man up. Once he was standing the Doctor dusted him off a bit before speaking. "Well I don't like guns, but your friends have taken some people who are very important to us and we want them back safely. So, you need to help us find them or I'll give you back to my lovely psychotic wife with a gun, an idea that I really shouldn't like but is a bit exciting, or I could give you to Rory the Roman which may not sound as scary, but trust me River had to get it from somewhere and he's had a hard few months. So why don't you cooperate before I get cross as well."

The Doctor was smiling cheerfully, but the man found that more frightening than the violent blonde woman or the other man with the blank look in his eyes. He was still too scared to speak, but he managed a nod.

"Good choice," the Doctor said and thumped him on the back. "Do you have a name or can I call you Benny the Bandit? That sounds like a fun name doesn't it. I really do like alliteration. I could call myself Doctor the Doctor but hat just doesn't sound as good."

River rolled her eyes at the speech but instead of commenting she began searching a nearby house for some rope to secure 'Benny.' She returned with a good-sized piece and tied it tightly around his hands with a length left over to hold onto.

Just as she was finishing the old man they spoke to earlier came hobbling towards them. "Look at the bad luck you strangers have brought us. Be gone before you bring a monsoon." The elder yelled and waved his walking stick at them.

"This isn't our fault!" Rory finally shook off his shock. "They took our friends. Why would we cause this?"

The Doctor put his arm around Rory's shoulder and turned him towards the forest where the Bandits had disappeared. "He's right. We didn't cause this and we're going to get them back and stop these bandits from causing trouble in the future."

"Bah. Leave here and take your bad luck with you." The old man continued to wave his stick at them until the four left the village and reached the edge of the trees.

River held the rope as Benny led them into the woods and hopefully towards Amy and Brooke.

Meanwhile Amy sat against a tree in the middle of the bandits' camp with her wrists and ankles tied so tightly it hurt. Brooke was tied beside her, still unconscious, along with two young women from the village.

The storm that had threatened had finally broken. The canopy of trees provided some shelter from the torrent, but the entire camp was still soaked. Every few minutes a clap of thunder echoed across the countryside, but the trees hid the flashes of lightning.

Amy looked around the camp as the bandits organized what hey had stolen and squabbled over a bit of food or plunder. They paid no mind to the weather as they fought for the choice portions.

She was focused on the leader. He was a bit cleaner than the others, and he had armor and a fine sword while most of his underlings were in simple clothing. The leader also had a large tent that had guards at each corner. These guards had large spears that seemed much better made than the weapons the rest of the band used.

Amy heard a groan and felt Brooke stirring beside her.

"Ugh, what happened?" Brooke opened her eyes and blinked a few times while she tried to understand what had happened. It was difficult to keep up with everything when she'd spent so much of the last day unconscious.

She felt something hard behind her (hard and a bit bumpy. Based the roots she felt below her it was a tree), something tight and scratchy securing her wrists and ankles (rope, that was easy), and a warm breathing body on either side. She turned her head very slowly, careful to mind the large lump that had grown on the side. She saw a young Chinese woman that looked frightened; she turned the other way to see Amy looking intensely around.

"What's going on? Where are we?" Brooke asked.

"Shh, don't draw attention. They might forget about us so we have time to figure out how to escape." Amy whispered back and continued looking around.

"Escape? What? Where are we that we have to escape?" Brooke took the hint and whispered, but she was still confused. She tried to review recent events in her head. First the strange people appeared in the woods. Then they came home for dinner and Mom said her father was an alien. Then they abducted her inside a weird telephone box and somehow ended up I ancient China. But, the memory of how she ended up in the middle of a camp full of scruffy, smelly, scary looking men was missing. Perhaps it would be easier to keep up with what was going on if she hadn't been unconscious so much in the last day.

"We got kidnapped when the bandits attacked the village, and they took us back to they're camp. I don't know what happened to the others, but if they aren't hurt then they're looking for us. We have to get out of here and find them." Amy said.

"Look over at that one over there." Amy continued and gestured towards the armored man she had noticed earlier. When Brooke turned to see and nodded she continued. "He must be the leader and that tent with all the guards must be where he's hiding the treasure the old man was talking about."

"How is treasure going to help us if we're trying to escape? We'll just have to carry it." Brooke pointed out.

"Oi, I'm thinking." Amy said, "If you've got anything useful be sure to let me know."

"Um, right…escaping ideas." Brooke thought for a moment and then her face lit up. "Oh please let me have forgotten…" She contorted in an effort to remove something from the front pocket of her jeans. She managed to remove a small object about three inches long. A look of victory lit her face. "Ha, I have never been so grateful for chores."

"What is that?" Amy asked.

Brooke flipped the blade open and smiled. "My uncle's pocket knife. He lets me borrow it to feed the cattle and I forgot to give it back this morning. It might take awhile but we can cut the rope. Scoot your hands behind me so I can start on your wrists."

Amy moved her arms around so both of their hands we hidden from the view of a passerby. The last thing they needed was to get caught.

"Wouldn't it make sense for you to cut yourself loose first?" Amy asked as she felt Brooke's hands find the rope and begin to swathe thick ropes with the small blade.

"I couldn't get good angle to cut the ropes on my wrists, but hopefully I can get through yours and you can just unite me." Brooke replied.

"Someone seems to have calmed down." Amy commented, "Maybe you're finally getting the hang of the whole 'adventure' thing."

"No my head hurts too much for panicking. Plus I think whatever hit me knocked my sanity loose. Now be quiet; I can't see what I'm doing and I assume you don't want a new cut on your hand."

All Amy could do was be patient and hope all the bandits forgot about them. Brooke spent the next several minutes sawing at Amy's bonds. The rope was almost cut through; unfortunately the bandit leader finally decided to examine the captives.

"Brooke, hurry! He's coming over here." Amy whispered urgently.

"I'm going as fast as I can. This stuff is a bit thicker than twine and feedbags, and this isn't a particularly high quality knife." The girl hissed through her teeth, frustrated.

"Then just hide it," Amy said. "There isn't time and I don't think they would be too happy if they knew we were trying to escape."

Amy watched the large man slowly walk across the camp towards them. His hair was cut close to his head and he had a short beard around his mouth. The armor and weapons added to his generally menacing appearance.

When he was close he walked around the tree inspecting the women sitting there. His look was appraising, as though he were looking at animals or goods in a market instead of people. He made a full circle of the tree and crouched down in front of Amy.

"You are very strange. I have never seen anyone with such unusual coloring." He reached over and touched a lock of Amy's hair. She jerked back to escape his hands. Something about the man made her insides knot with fear.

He chuckled and continued speaking, "I'm sure the gods wouldn't mind if I…sampled the offering beforehand." He grabbed Amy's upper arm and jerked her to her feet. He leered down at her.

Amy shuddered but quickly found her spirit. "Oi, you better not touch me. Right now there are 3 people that you should be very afraid of, and they're all looking for me right now. If you touch me then my husband will make sure you regret it." It was difficult to sound convincing when she was trying to stay balanced with her ankles tied together, but the fiery scot did her best.

Unfortunately her courage only amused the bandit leader. He laughed and the joke quickly spread to the rest of the group.

"Woman, I am the Great Tso Lee. I lead the most feared group of outlaws within hundreds of miles. I have bested the gods and stolen the riches of dragons. I do not fear husbands that are foolish enough to challenge me." He tightened his grip on Amy's arm and began dragging her towards her tent.

Watched the whole exchange from her spot on the ground. She admired Amy's courage but was paralyzed with fear herself. However when the Tso Lee fellow began dragging her off, Brooke realized something had to be done. She couldn't exactly let some giant Chinese criminal have his way with her grandmother.

"I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die" the conviction became a chant inside her head. The teen shifted so her legs were bent under her, squeezed her eyes shut and launched herself at the feet of the man.

Several things happened at once. Brooke hit Tso Lee in the back of the knees. He crumpled and brought Amy down with him. They both fell on top of Brooke in a jumble of limbs.

At the same time a bolt of lightning struck a tree in a different part of camp. A deafening roar of thunder tore through the air a half second later. Large wood splinters shot all over the camp and the remainder of the tree caught fire. The camp was in chaos for several minutes as everyone tried to dodge flying debris and prevent the fire from spreading even though the heavy rain helped quickly extinguish the flames.

The disorder would have been a perfect time to sneak off if Amy and Brooke weren't currently part of a tangled heap with their limbs tied. Tsu Lee had to get up before they could move at all.

The large bandit didn't look happy. His tumble had hurt his pride in front of his men and his armor was covered in mud. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't hesitate to kill the cause of his embarrassment. The strange looking girl didn't appear too threatening, but the lightning could be a sign that she was either a powerful sorceress or the gods had taken an interest in the well being of her and the woman with intriguing coloring. Either way it was dangerous to ignore such a powerful omen. Perhaps it would be prudent to sacrifice the two females and be done with them. He would be disappointed to lose the woman, but satisfying the gods took precedent over pleasure.

"Remove the leg bindings and prepare the prisoners for sacrifice. The Great Dragons have demanded their right early. We go to the top of the mountain." Tso Lee barked orders and a semblance of order returned as the men scrambled to follow his instructions. The two women from the village had the ropes at their feet removed and were forced to stand. They trembled and huddled together for comfort.

Tso Lee leaned down to Amy and Brooke in the mud. He pulled a knife out of his belt and cut the ropes at their ankles himself.

"It seems the dragons have taken an interest in you, but I promise I won't hesitate to kill you if the witch child tries anything." He hissed at them and gestured at Brooke with his knife. He returned the knife to his belt and yanked them to their feet.

Brooke and Amy were roughly shoved towards the other two women and the whole group began walking towards the mountain that soared above the trees and into the dark storm clouds.

"What are we going to do now?" Brooke whispered in Amy's ear as they were ushered deeper into the trees.

"I don't know. At least our legs are free so we can run if we have to. I might be able to break the rope around my hands since you cut through most of it earlier." Amy replied.

"Okay, I'm pretty fast but I don't know if I can out run sixty men in an unfamiliar forest. Plus, what about the other two? We can't just leave them here."

"I didn't say we were going to leave them, our best option is to wait for Rory, River, and the Doctor to come save us. We'll only run if there is an emergency."

"Maybe you didn't hear me say it the first time: _sixty_ men. What are three people going to do?" Brooke had always thought her mom was awesome, but she didn't share Amy's faith in the others' ability to save them. It didn't seem like there was much time to spare waiting on rescuers.

"They'll think of something; they always do. We just have to be patient." Amy reassured girl. Although she had a few doubts of her own, Amy had faith in River and the Doctor and Rory. Rory would always save her.

Benny the Bandit proved very cooperative once he realized helping the strange looking people was the only way to stay alive. He led them through the forest towards the camp; the old animal track he used had recently seen lots of horse and human traffic, and the rain hadn't completely managed to wash away the tracks. Thus, the three time travelers were confident it was the right way. This confidence didn't cause them to slow their pace, but it did allow two thirds of the trio to have a conversation.

"River, could you please tell me again how we ended up with a daughter." The Doctor asked. He ducked a low hanging branch and looked at the woman in front of him.

"Sweetie, you know I can't tell you. Spoilers. Although," She turned her head and shoot him a naughty smirk, "after we get her and Mother back safely I can demonstrate."

Rory was in front of them holding Benny's rope, and he didn't like where the conversation was headed. "Um…I'm still here _and_ I'm still technically your father, so can we not talk about that. Please?"

"Talk about what?" The Doctor said confused.

Rory rolled his eyes. "How can you have lived for hundreds of years and not understand? Children don't just appear."

"What?" The Doctor stopped to think for a moment and then blushed. He jogged to catch up with his companions. "No, no, no. That's all humany stuff. Time Lords have nothing to do with that kind of thing. We're loomed. For all intents and purposes, children _do_ just appear."

"Oh Sweetie, if only you knew." River grinned to herself.

"Knew what?" the Doctor seemed to forget the line of conversation.

"Okay! We're not talking about this. Not now, hopefully not ever. Brooke seems like a great kid, but we really are NOT talking about this." With that the group continued in silence for several minutes.

"If only I knew what?" Why did River always have to be so frustrating? Yes, foreknowledge is dangerous and could throw off their timelines, but he _really_ hated not knowing.

"Spoilers"

Rory groaned.

Finally they reached the bandits' camp, only to discover it was abandoned. A large burned stump dominated the center of camp and chunks of wood littered the ground. Objects were lying around as if everyone had left in a hurry. However since many valuables and weapons were left behind, it appeared that they planned to return eventually.

The Doctor removed the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and began examining the area. Results were inconclusive, but it seemed lightning had struck the tree. One of the tents caught his eye and he walked towards it. The tent was larger than the others and better made. The flaps were tied tightly shut so no one could 'accidentally' peek inside. His screwdriver lit up and the ties came undone. What ever was hidden inside had to be interesting.

On the other side of the camp, River and Rory were interrogating their guide.

"Where did they go?" River asked in a deceptively level voice. She didn't show it, but she was beginning to worry if they were going to find Amy and Brooke in time.

"I don't know. They are usually here right after a raid." The young man answered. He stared at the gun in River's waist holster and prayed she didn't have a reason to take the weapon out.

"They obviously aren't, so you better come up with a few ideas of where they are soon." River let her hand rest on her gun.

Benny gulped and replied. "They could have gone to the mountain to make a sacrifice."

"A sacrifice to what?" Rory asked, frustrated.

"The Great Dragons. The boss stole their treasure and tries to make up for it by offering prisoners from nearby villages so they won't come after him. The entire band goes to watch him prove he isn't afraid of the dragons, but he just wants to make sure there isn't anyone around to steal his treasure."

"What will happen to the prisoners when they get sacrificed? What's happened to Amy?" Rory continued the questions.

"The Great Dragons appear and the prisoners vanish. The Dragons devour them." Benny was sweating. He continued staring fixedly at River's weapon. If he got out of this alive he mentally vowed to take up rice farming and never lift a weapon again.

"Hey! You will never guess what I found." The Doctor cam running out of a tent with a decorated box about the size of a toaster. He was grinning as if he was a child who had just found a stash of sweets.

"Doctor, Amy and Brooke could be getting devoured by Dragons right now. What is a box going to do?"

"Never underestimate a good box Rory. I am rather fond of them myself, especially when they're bigger on the inside. Although boxes that are the same size on the inside are brilliant too. You can stack them or put them on your head when people keep shooting your hats. But," He paused for emphasis, "the best thing about boxes, is what's inside." With that the Doctor opened the lid to expose the contents.

Inside the box, nestled on a silk cushion, were three spheres. They were perfectly round and were polished to a glinting finish. Each one seemed to glow with an internal light. They were quite beautiful, but served no obvious purpose.

Since the Doctor obviously wanted to explain, River asked the inevitable question. "So what are they then?"

"These," the Doctor began, pointing to the strange orbs. "These are Kelrinian power globes. And if this is the treasure the thieves stole from the dragons, then they aren't really dragons at all. They're aliens." The Doctor rocked back and forth on his heels looking pleased with himself.

"Why is devoured by aliens any better than devoured by dragons?" Rory asked

"Kelrinians are huge lizard-like creatures so it's no surprise you lot got them confused with dragons, but they are totally different species. Kelrinians aren't going to devour anyone. They survive on solar radiation and atmospheric gasses. They're a powerful psychic race that live in side the storms in gas giants and grow to amazing sizes. Whenever the population grows too big for the planet to support, they store gasses and energy they need to live inside these globes and fly across space to find a new home. They must have stopped here on earth during their journey, but something went wrong and humans stole the globes. Now they are trapped here and they're creating the storms and natural disasters that the villagers were worried about."

"But what about Amy and Brooke?" Rory was having some trouble taking it all in. No matter how much time he spent with the Doctor, the sudden bursts of insight were still difficult to follow.

"Amy and Brooke aren't in any danger of getting eaten. Plus, the Kelrinians can leave as soon as they get these back." The Doctor closed the lid to the box and patted the side.

"They may not be in danger of getting eaten, but my mother and our daughter are still prisoners to some very dangerous men. We still need to find them quickly." River snapped the men back to the task at hand. She turned to Benny. "What is the fastest way to this mountain?"

The bandit didn't understand anything that had been said in the last few minutes, but he had appreciated the attention being away from him. He was unprepared for the sudden question.

"Ah…" he gaped for a few second before coming up with a reply. "There is a trail that leads strait to the top. They won't be traveling too fast because everyone is on foot. You can take the horses. I'll show you where they are just please let me live." By the end of his speech Benny was begging for his life.

"Don't worry Benny the Bandit. We were never going to kill you." The Doctor said comfortingly. He leaded down to pat the frightened man's shoulder. "If you take us to the horses and point us in the right direction you can be home in time for tea."

The bandit nodded, stood up and led the way. A few minutes later, three riders were galloping towards the mountain and Benny was alone in an abandoned camp. He thanked the gods and his ancestors for his survival and began gathering a few small trinkets he could sell to pay for a small farm where he could stay very far away from outlaws and odd-looking people with ancient eyes and strange weapons.

The large group had almost reached the peak of the mountain. A few minutes earlier, Amy had asked what was going to happen to them. She learned that they were going to be 'nourishment for the Great Dragons' before Tso Lee had ordered silence. She and Brooke were left to ponder their fates.

"It doesn't make any sense." Brooke whispered as she walked in a line behind Amy and the two village women. "Chinese dragons don't eat people. They're supposed to be nice."

"Nice dragons? Who told you that? Maybe you should be concerned about the bump on your head." Amy hissed back. Every step led them closer to death and farther away from their potential rescuers.

"Well, nice as dragons go. They aren't fluffy bunnies or anything, but they aren't the savage, fire-breating menaces from European myths either. The Chinese dragons are supposed to maintain the natural balance and control the elements. They didn't eat people; they live and fly using magic. Plus, I don't think they live in caves; they fly around or stay in the bottoms of rivers. This whole situation doesn't make any sense." Brooke was trying to figure out why this situation was so much different from all the books she had read.

"Well these people seem to believe they do eat people, and we aren't really in a position to argue." Amy's reply was just a little too loud and they both received stinging blows to the side of the head to remind them they were supposed to stay silent.

They continued for several more minutes until the path leveled out. They found themselves on an open flat area in front of a large cave mouth. Although the opening was very large it was impossible to see past the darkness to discover what was inside. True that storm clouds didn't allow much light, but the cave must also have been very deep.

The prisoners were arranged in a line facing the cave mouth. Tso Lee walked over to stand in front of them.

"Behold the cave of the Great Dragons." He spoke in a loud voice that carried across the clearing. "Which one of you would like the honor of being the first to greet the Great Ones?" He scanned the line of women. His gaze came to rest on Brooke. He still help her responsible for his embarrassment in camp. He still wasn't entirely convinced she didn't call the lightning; she would be the first to go to prevent any trouble. "You, witch child, come forward and meet your fate."

The prisoners looked at each other with confusion for a few minutes before Brooke pointed to herself with a questioning look.

"Yes, you. Bring her forward!" Tso Lee gave the order and two men grabbed Brooke's arms and dragged her to their leader. When she was standing in front of him Tso Lee gave her instructions. "Stand in front of the cave opening to await your doom. Don't think of running or you will be struck down and given to the dragons anyway." He gestured towards several men armed with bows.

Brooke swallowed nervously and started across the clearing. As soon as she was out of earshot she started talking to herself in the hopes it would help the nerves.

"So…eaten by dragons or take an arrow in the heart. Of course they probably can't aim so I'll end up bleeding to death like Aunt Catherine's pincushion. That is if pincushions bled or if they were made from people getting shot with arrows. Oh crap, I'm going to die. At least getting eaten will be quick…unless they just swallow me whole and I drown in mythical stomach acid. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap I'm going to die. This is that stupid Doctor's fault, actually really Mom's fault because she invited them to dinner, but I like Mom so it obviously has to be the Doctor. Great, now I'm just deluding myself like Mom always warns me about. I don't care, still blaming him. Oh crap, I'm going to die."

The monologue helped distract her from the sounds of movement inside the cave. Something very large seemed to scrape across stone. When Brooke was about 200 feet from the cave mouth, she finally noticed the sounds and froze in her tracks. It was too late. After she stopped moving a head appeared from the depths of the cave.

The head itself was the size of a large truck. Scales covered the snout and fangs as long as Brooke was tall stuck out over the lips. Golden horns curved out from the back of the skull, and whiskers of she same color grew from behind the nostrils. A mane of long stiff hairs covered the neck that attached to a large, snakelike body that continued into the cave. The beast turned its head to stare down at Brooke with one huge eye.

"Wow…" Brooke stood in awe for a few seconds. The great monster of legends was real. Then she remembered she was about to get eaten and the talking started again. "Um…hi Mr. Dragon. It's been a really long day, and I would really appreciate you not eating me right now. You see, I'm supposed to babysit this weekend and according to the legends, you aren't supposed to eat people. And…." Brooke trailed off as she looked into the monster's eye.

The eye had started out clear, but the longer she looked it started to swirl with dozens of colors. She watched the rainbow pool twirl into infinity while pressure built up inside her head. Pressure kept building until something snapped inside her mind. The dragon's head shot up until it towered over the clearing. It looked down at the people below.

"_**You are different then the ones before. Your mind did not shatter**__." _Brooke heard a deep voice echo in the corners of her mind.

The girl's eyes widened and she glanced around before returning her gaze to the dragon. "Did you say that?"

"_**Yes, I am Shenlong, Lord of Storms, these humans have stolen our power. You will speak for us. We will give you the strength to make them return our power."**_

"Stolen your power?" Brooke looked up at the huge body. Her eyes fell on the bare neck. "Oh, the pearl where you keep magic. Tso Lee stole it. That must have been the treasure the old man was talking about." Brooke finally understood. The stories said that the pearl was the source of the dragons' power. They couldn't fly or work magic without it. Then her mind registered the rest of the statement. "What do you mean 'we?'" she yelled up at Shenlong. "and how will I speak for you? I can go tell him to give the treasure back, but I doubt he'll listen to me."

"**We will speak through you, and we will bring flying rains and shaking earth if they do not return our power." **Brooke heard another voice in her head. This one was deeper and sounded like rock scraping together. "**I am Dilong. The earth will spilt below them and stones shall crush their bones!"**

"_I am Yinglong. The rains will make the rivers pass their doors. They will all drown in the floods of our wrath!" _ The new voice was lighter than the others, but sounded just as powerful when it yelled into her thoughts.

Then Brooke felt something clawing its way into her head. Pain ripped through her thoughts as the dragons took control.

Amy watched the dragon emerge from the cave. She was frightened for Brooke, but when nothing happened for the next few minutes she began to wonder. Amy strained her eyes to watch closer. Brooke seemed to be _talking_ to the creature; there was no longer any doubt of her paternity. The Doctor was the only other person she had ever seen who looked death in the face and decided to _talk to it_. Amy was about to laugh until she heard Brooke cry out and two more giant heads appeared from inside the cave. The entire crowd jumped with surprise.

"I seems the witch child has caught their attention." Tso Lee said. He turned to leer at Amy. "Perhaps they will be satisfied."

Amy shuddered. For the last several minutes she had been using the commotion of the sacrifice to work on the weakened bonds at her wrists. When the bandit leader reached over to touch her, she managed to break the ropes and slap him in the face.

Unfortunately, this only served to anger Tso Lee. He grabbed Amy's arms and raised his fist to strike her for her insolence. He was interrupted by the sound of pounding hooves and a yell.

"AMY!" Rory urged his horse faster. He saw the large man holding his wife, and there was no way Rory was going to let him hurt her. The angry Roman centurion charged towards the pair.

Tso Lee released his hold and they both moved out of the path of the charging horse. Rory yanked his mount to a stop and leaned down to pull Amy onto the saddle with him. Just as she settled in, River and the Doctor rode up with horses of their own.

"Where is Brooke?" River asked hurriedly. They needed to get the girl and get out before the bandits realized the prisoners were escaping and did something to stop them.

"She's about to get eaten by dragons." Amy pointed across the clearing. Three scaled heads loomed over a tiny figure.

"Oh good, they're small ones. That should make this much easier." The Doctor commented. "Still better hurry though." The Doctor examined the scene and then urged his horse through the crowd of bandits. The others quickly followed and they crossed the distance between the mulling crowd and the cave.

Tso Lee was shocked at the sudden turn of events, but he it didn't stop him long. He began yelling orders to his men, many of which didn't know anything was amiss until three horses blew past them. Soon the entire horde was charging after the four people on horseback.

The two women from the village took the opportunity to escape into the forest.

"What did the Doctor mean small ones?" Amy yelled into Rory's ear as they galloped towards the dragons that seemed very large.

"Apparently, they're actually aliens that travel across space to find a place to live. Something happened and these ended up here. They can't leave because the bandits stole their power source." Rory yelled back.

They began to slow as they came closer. When they reached Brooke the group stopped and dismounted. The girl gave no sign of noticing them; she stared up at the three creatures fixedly.

The Doctor walked up to her and waved his hand in front of her eyes. He received no response of any kind. He turned his head upwards to examine the dragons (Kelrinians actually, but no one ever listened to him).

"Hello up there. Do you think you could let her go? I've got something for you, but we'd really like her back first." He yelled up at the giant heads.

"_**This child will speak for us. We will destroy the ones who have stolen our power and ravage these humans until they return what is ours." **_The strange voice came from behind him. The Doctor turned to see Brooke looking at him, but it wasn't her voice he heard and her eyes glowed with swirling colors. He got the sonic screwdriver from his pocket and scanned Brooke. He pressed a button and four claws shot out as the screwdriver extended. He scanned again and read the result.

"You're using her as a psychic link to communicate. Very clever, but unnecessary. You see, I've got what you want right here." The Doctor tapped he box he was carrying. "You release the girl and I'll give these power orbs back so you can leave this planet."

"Sweetie, hurry. We're going to have to fight if they make it over here." River was watching the horde of bandits running towards them with weapons raised.

Brooke (or the entity that now inhabited her) turned to see the advancing men. She raised her hands and the earth began to shake. The ground split and a chasm cut off the bandits' advance. A single lightning bolt splint the sky and struck Tso Lee. The bandit leader fell over dead. His men yelled in fright at the sight of the body and the split in the earth. They scattered off into the trees. Sort-of-Brooke turned back around to face the Doctor.

"_**You are different as well. You do not quake in fear at the sight of us. You speak as if you know us."**_

"Well I do know you. Well not personally yet. It's nice to meet you by the way. I'm the Doctor and these," he gestured at the others, "are the Ponds of various generations. And I'm not afraid of you because I know what you are. Your kind is from Kelrin, lovely place. I once took a tour in a balloon. But anyway you lot are a bit young to be traveling alone. How did you end up on Earth?"

"_**Our elders heard of many suitable planets in this system. We were traveling with a large group to find the planet with the red storm when solar flares knocked us off course. We crashed here and our power was lost to the humans while we recovered. It seems our kind have visited this land before because the humans treat us like gods, but they would not return our power."**_ The three huge heads lowered to look at the Doctor and the box he was holding.

"Well, good news. I found your power globes and I'll give them back just as soon as you promise to release this girl and leave the planet in peace. You've been causing lots of trouble for the locals with all your storms and floods and things. Made a big mess. But, I'll promise not to tell if you go on your way."

"_**Return our power and we will leave. This planet is too solid for us to grow."**_

"Right. Here you go." The Doctor opened the lid to the box and the three orbs began to glow. They flew out of the box and came to rest at the base of each dragons' throat. There they grew until each was the size of a boulder. "The planet you're looking for is called Jupiter. Once you pass the moon, keep going and it's the next planet past Mars. Big old thing, you can't miss it. Although, be careful through the asteroid belt. Wouldn't want to get knocked off course again.

"_**Thank you Doctor and thank the child as well. We will sing of you when we reach the Red Storm."**_ With that the three dragons (Kelrinians) flew out of the cave and disappeared into the sky. The storm clouds immediately disappeared and the sun shone through.

The strange colors faded from Brookes eyes and she collapsed. The Doctor dropped the box and kneeled down to check on her. River ran over as well.

"Is she all right Doctor?" River asked with concern.

"She's fine. Time Lords are all a bit psychic, that's why the Kelrinians could establish a link instead of immediately frying her brain, but she isn't accustomed to that sort of communication. She should recover; just had a bit of a shock." He replied.

"Good" Amy said, "I'd like to get out of these wet clothes. Doctor, the next trip needs to be somewhere a little less damp. I'm tired of getting soaked."

Everyone laughed. They were relieved that they everything had turned out well after such a tiring day. They were all ready for a dry set of clothes and a chance to rest.

The group made it back to the TARDIS without much trouble. (They did have to walk around the village. The inhabitants still thought they were demons that brought bad luck.) River made tea and they were all (except Amy, she decided shower first, tea later) sitting around the control room warming up.

"So they weren't dragons? All the legends were about weather controlling aliens that were going to live on Jupiter?" Brooke had trouble believing what the Doctor was trying to explain.

"They were still young. They didn't have the strength to go through the solar flare." The Doctor tried again.

Rory had questions too. "So dragons aren't real. They're just aliens. Does that mean all mythical creatures are just aliens?"

"No dragons are real, but there are different kinds. Some of them are from other planets, but the scary fire-breathing ones are real and they're from earth. And just because lots of legends are based on aliens doesn't mean all of them are. Rory, you've met a minotaur." The Doctor began gesturing with his hands while he explained. Some tea spilled over the side of his mug.

"And the minotaur was an alien in a space hotel prison thing. That's not really a good example."

"Oh, shut up," the Doctor told Rory. He was too busy trying to dab hot tea out of his shirt to explain it again.

"What's he shutting up about?" Amy walked down the stairs leading deeper into the TARDIS.

"I was just saying how I get the bathroom next." Rory hurried off before anyone could contradict him.

"Ugh. Why is there only one bathroom?" Brooke said with a groan. "Spaceship capable of holding hundreds of people and one bathroom. Talk about poor planning."

"There used to be more, but we've lost some over the years. Rooms had to bet burned up for some jumps across dimensions, and I think at least three have just been misplaced." The Doctor answered, finally giving up on his stained shirt. At least the tea didn't spill on his (incredibly cool) bowtie.

"Hey, It's alright. How about we find you a place to sleep while you wait." Amy offered.

Brooke retrieved her things from the corner they had been forgotten in earlier and followed Amy down the hallway. River and the Doctor were left alone in the control room.

"So tell me again how I ended up with a teenage daughter?" The Doctor asked.

"Sweetie, I didn't tell you before and I still won't. Spoilers, those are the rules." River sipped her tea.

"But rules are made to be broken."

"Not those rules. You know that just as well as I do; that's why you made them. Now it's been a long day, why don't you come to bed?" She asked.

"No, I don't really sleep and the TARDIS has been acting strange recently. Should probably check if everything is all right." The Doctor waved her off and sat down.

River looked hard at him for a moment before turning and walking up the stairs. "Still so young," she whispered to herself sadly, but she was out of earshot.

The Doctor was left alone to think about recent events. He had distracted everyone with Ancient China, but the revelation of Brooke's existence shocked him. How could he have a family? Sure he'd married River so he had a wife and the Ponds were technically his in-laws, but that was special circumstances in a universe that never happened. He couldn't possibly be a father again after all this time. He stared into his mug as if his tea would provide the answers.

He sat there thinking for a few more minutes before breathing a sigh.

"Geronimo" he whispered to himself and drank the rest of his tea. He climbed down under the console and began 'fixing' various pieces of the TARDIS.

A/N- I didn't quite make it by New Year's, so hopefully this chapter was more exciting. I definitely didn't expect it to be this long (almost twice the length of the others). I'm about to get really busy again, but no matter how long updates take in the future I refuse to give up on this story. It's been bugging me and I'm really excited to see where it ends up. Plus, apparently the new season doesn't start until the fall this year, so maybe the story will stop me from going into DW withdrawals. Loved the Christmas episode by the way. If you haven't seen it yet, you definitely should.

Happy (late) New Year


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer- how about we play hangman? **_ _o _o_ o_ _ _o_ _o_ _ _o**

Chapter 6

"Ugneah," Brooke sat in the console room holding her head. The aches and queasiness from before had disappeared during their adventure in ancient China, but at sometime during the night (If you could call it that. There was no indication of a day passing; everyone just went to sleep.) the awful feelings had returned with more strength.

"Are you trying to speak troll?" the Doctor asked, glancing up from the controls, "because you really have the emphasis all wrong."

The girl shot him a look that would curdle milk. "I'm not trying to speak troll. I hurt. It feels like my skull is going to explode."

Rory offered her a piece of toast. "Here," he said holding out the food, "you'll probably feel better with something in your stomach. What hurts?" He had gone full nurse and wanted to help.

"I'm achy all over, and I couldn't get any sleep last night." Brooke said through bites of toast. "The headache is the worst part though; it's like something's trying to get in my head, and it hurts, sort of like with the dragons except it's worse in this stupid ship."

A gong-like noise sounded as the TARDIS' response to being called stupid. Brooke clenched her eyes in pain at the sound.

"That doesn't really sound like anything I've ever heard of." Rory thought out loud.

"Couldn't she just have some twenty-four hour bug?" Amy asked. "We were running around yesterday and she seemed fine."

"No," River said, "she was complaining about a headache right after we landed. I thought she was whining to get attention so I didn't pay any mind, but if it's come back there might actually be something wrong. Sweetie, what do you think?" River turned and asked the Doctor.

"Um, 'she' is still here." Brooke said through a mouthful of toast. "And I wasn't whining." She said, a little offended that her mother thought she was acting like a third grader trying to get out of school.

"She's probably just experiencing shock from the Kelrinian's psychic link." The Doctor walked over and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. After a quick scan he put his hands on either side of her face and closed his eyes in concentration.

Brooke wasn't really comfortable with the proximity of the strange man on which she blamed all of the weird things that had gone on in her life recently. She couldn't move her head because of his grip, so she tried to glance anywhere other than directly at the Doctor. After about a minute of strained silence the Doctor snapped his eyes open and straitened up, surprising the others with his sudden movement.

"Nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I was wrong about the cause. Although, I was right too. Well, actually almost mostly right, which is still better than all the way wrong." The Doctor crossed his arms, uncrossed them, and then tried again in a slightly different position while he contemplated exactly how much better being almost mostly right was than admitting being entirely wrong.

"Ugh, I did not get enough sleep to deal with him." Brooke muttered to herself. The adults hadn't been listening to her for several minutes.

"Doctor," River tried to snap him out of his contemplation. "What were you right about?"

"What? Oh, psychic shock." He said, coming back to reality. He turned and started fiddling with various objects on the console. He pulled the scanner around and looked at the screen. "Like I said before, Time Lords are a psychic race, but she grew up on earth so her mind hasn't learned to adjust to the TARDIS consciousness. Before her mind was like a wall with a really small hole that only a little bit of the TARDIS could peek through. When the Kelrinians invaded her mind they tore the whole wall down so everything is flooding in at once without giving her time to adjust. Also, she's a bit time sick, happens to everyone."

"Did you mean for that explanation be so terrible or are you really that strange?" Brooke asked under her breath. She could have yelled for all the attention the adults were paying her. (Actually Rory had been listening. The girl's comments had earned a few internal chuckles simply for being the things he sometimes felt like saying but never vocalized. Still, he felt it was best not to draw attention to the jokes.)

"But the first time I was on the TARDIS she taught me to fly. Brooke is a child of the TARDIS too, why would being here hurt Brooke?" River was beginning to get concerned.

"Two reasons," the Doctor turned back around to look at his friends. "River, you grew up with the Silence messing around in your head. Not ideal circumstances for a growing child, but it helped get you accustomed to an outside consciousness. Second, Brooke is fighting it." He looked down at the girl with her head in her hands. "You have to accept what's happening. The more you deny it, the more it will hurt."

"Yes, I'll just roll out the red carpet and let the creepy space ship in my head. No thank you. I'll keep my thoughts to myself." Brooke said mockingly.

"Thirdly, stop calling her names. Sexy doesn't take well to being made fun of." The Doctor added. "If you make her angry she'll make you feel worse."

"Who are you talking about!" Brooke groaned. "I haven't been calling anyone names."

"The TARDIS, she doesn't like it when you called her stupid." The Doctor said defensively.

"That doesn't even make sense. It's a space ship. It doesn't have _feelings._" Brooke snapped. She really didn't do well without sleep. Plus the Doctor kept talking; she was always more irritated when he was talking.

The TARDIS responded with several noises that sounded quite rude.

"Now Dear," the Doctor patted the console tenderly, "There's no need to use that type of language. She's young and doesn't know any better." He turned to scold Brooke. "How could you even say that? Of course she has feelings."

The teen stared at him with a look of blank disbelief.

Amy leaned down to whisper in Brooke's ear. "He isn't really good at explaining it, but the TARDIS is alive. You shouldn't tease her."

Brooke just turned the look to Amy. The girl started muttering under her breath. "How can a machine be alive…..They're all crazy…"

"If she feels well enough to talk to herself, then she feels well enough to go somewhere" River commented, her worry gone. As soon as her daughter stopped being stubborn the headache would go away. Of course, it might take awhile; Brooke was very stubborn. However, she was a child of the TARDIS and would realize it eventually.

The Doctor clapped his hands and started rubbing them in his excitement. "Right, I've got just the place. 'Less damp' you said Amy, and less damp it shall be." He started running around the console with his usual enthusiasm. "And no helping River!" he said loudly.

She removed her hand from the parking break. Let him have his noise. Although she did adjust a few switches he had mistakenly flipped. She wasn't in the mood for the universe to get destroyed today. They could save that for later.

As soon as the TARDIS started actively flying instead of simply floating though the vortex, Brooke went from clutching her head to clutching her stomach. When the grating sound of the TARDIS landing stopped, she quickly ran out of her chair. She ran several feet out of the wooden doors and fell to her knees where she promptly emptied her toast onto the ground…

…directly in front of a pair if shoes.

They were a very nice looking pair of shoes. They seemed to be made of silk or some other types of fancy looking material that served no purpose as practical footwear. For some reason Brooke's mind was disconnected from the act of losing her breakfast; she had plenty of time to notice the pattern of tiny beads that snaked around the sides of the shoes.

After the contents of her stomach were emptied into the dirt, Brooke slowly lifted her gaze. Above the shoes was a pair of loose fitting pants that seemed to be made from the same material. Thick vertical stripes in a bright orange and blue decorated the trousers. The outfit was finished with a navy blue tunic secured with an orange sash.

If the clothes weren't shocking enough, the stranger's face was even more surprising. His skin was purple. His face and arms were the color of dark grape juice. His lips were lavender and his eyes were a dark blue that seemed almost indigo. His indigo hair was done in rows of tight braids.

Instead of being disgusted with the girl who had just vomited on his shoes, the purple stranger seemed delighted. His lips parted in a grin that exposed bright white teeth.

"Thank you! I am quite honored to receive your blessing pale-one." The stranger said.

Brooke was still queasy and his words were confusing. "Um…you're welcome?"

About this tie the others stepped outside and shut the wooden doors behind them. The TARDIS had landed on a small, sandy hill. On one side, miles of desert stretched as far as they could see. On the other side, strange looking trees were arranged in neat rows until the other horizon. Looking to the sky revealed no less than three suns that made the heat almost unbearable.

Brooke had made it all the way to the foot of the small hill before her incident. When the purple man looked up, his grin got even bigger.

"My father said that the gods would hear us, and they have answered our call for heroes! Very honored to meet you. I am Haaish Kaastashflkaaishta" He bowed low as the others approached.

"What's going on then? Usually we have to actually do something before they start thanking us." Amy whispered as they walked down the hill.

"Well, not exactly sure, but I do rather like this greeting more than the last one." The Doctor replied. When they reached the foot of the rise he raised his hand to shake "It's nice to meet you too. Haaish, was it? I'm the Doctor. These are the Ponds and Songs. What were you saying about needing heroes?"

"Yes, Doc-tor. A savage beast has plagued our city for several weeks. Finally my father instructed me to travel until I found someone to save us. Now that you have sworn to service I will take you back to Tarhakatheen to defeat the monster."

"Sworn?" Rory asked incredulously. "When did we swear to anything?"

"This young warrior pledged her strength at my feet. I assume you were traveling with her and would assist." Haaish gestured down at Brooke who was still sitting in the dirt.

Four pairs of eyes immediately followed his hand. Brooked looked up at various levels of accusation. (Well not really; she just assumed she was being accused of something based on the conversation. No one really minded helping even though they usually like to choose for themselves. They were trying to decide how Brooke had managed to swear her loyalty in the two minutes it took them to follow her out of the TARDIS.)

"I just puked on his shoes, I promise."

A/N- Well, this is really short (especially compared to the last chapter :/). Plus not much happened, but I figured you deserved something after all this time, however pitiful. I really am sorry about taking so long, but life happens and I'm new at this. The rest of this planet is fairly planned out, so hopefully that will follow reasonably quickly. Um…tell me if you would rather have shorter chapters (like this one) relatively more often or if you would rather have super long ones whenever I finish an arc (like the last one).


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